Pleas visithttp://www.TheLightningCatchers.com/ for more info or to order an 18" x 22" poster
As a kid growing up in Morristown NJ in the 60’s, I didn’t have anywhere near the amount of distractions that kids of the computer age do. We lived on a quiet, dead-end street, which was great for riding our bikes, playing ball with friends or just exploring. Though our parents scarcely knew the people living right next door, my brother and sister and I, along with our friends from the street, roamed the neighborhood freely and knew everybody, or at least knew of them. The old couple named Bronson were quiet and unassuming and we had not even spoken to them. That changed when I threw a snowball at their house. Who knew aluminum siding dented so easily? It got around that Mr. Bronson was upset about it and although I thought about hiding and claiming innocence, I eventually went to his house and faced the music. Guess he gave a few points for that because the repercussions were short and without anger. In the bargain, I learned that he was a very interesting person. He liked to talk and it wasn’t long before I learned he was something of a wizard. Among other things, had built his own powerful stereo system, all from parts and rigged with enough speakers and wattage to it to shake the house. One sample of its teeth-rattling, chest-vibrating awesomeness made my eyes grow large. Mr. Bronson also mentioned some sort of horn that put out a sound wave so long and low that human ears couldn’t hear it. This was perhaps interesting in a cerebral sort of way. But then he mentioned that this long sound wave could disrupt the air around a flying bird, causing it to fall from the sky. Wow! This was as good as black magic to a 10 year old. I found all manner of reasons to return to Mr. And Mrs. Bronson’s house – so-and-so wants to see the stereo, hey what about getting the horn out and making a bird fall, etc. Over the years, I learned that Walt had been a photographer, an electrical engineer, and held several patents. I watched him build a cute little keyboard organ for his granddaughter with no plans at all, just boxes and boxes of electrical parts. He claimed to be involved in the early work on radar. I was skeptical but remained silent. Then he claimed to have a patent on the first portable keyboard organ – the kind one wears with a strap around the neck like Edgar Winter might play during a concert. I challenged him on this one but he just got up, walked over to a closet, and pulled out a dusty and clunky looking keyboard that he said was the proto-type. It sure looked the part. Walt’s involvement in the picture went beyond posing for it. I went to him when I was struggling with a way to capture electricity on film. He lent me this odd-looking tool that looked like a flashlight with a big 3” metal bee stinger where the light would have been and a wire and plug on the other. He said it was originally used for testing neon signs for leaks. I was able to contact expose electricity by pressing wrinkled foil against film in the darkroom and running this tool over the foil. That is the bluish electrical effects you see in the jars. The larger bolts of electricity are scaled-down lightning. Anyway, he was a character and was perfect for the role of Lightning Catcher despite being 92 at the time. The gal in the pic is not Walt’s wife. She was the local historian in the town library of Boonton, NJ. My old photo studio was above that library on the third floor. I did not know her very well but she was very enthusiastic about being in the photo. Both of them have since passed away and each had the print displayed at their funerals. Walt was 98.
Pleas visithttp://www.TheLightningCatchers.com/ for more info or to order an 18" x 22" poster
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